Chapter 686: The Stalwart Lin Bi’er
Damn it! When he saw what had transpired, Wang Jianyu immediately chased after the fading light. Wang Han’s face also drained of all color. He would’ve started cursing if Wang Jianyu wasn’t his grandfather.
“After her!” Wang Han instructed with a wave of his hand. Those from the Sacred Sword Palace were all ashen-faced and didn’t dare to express the slightest dissent. They were all elders of the Sacred Sword Palace and by no means inferior to Wang Han, but Wang Han’s position now was even higher than Wang Jianyu’s, after becoming Sect Head Qin Mo’s disciple. Who would dare disobey him? Everyone left in pursuit of Ling Bi’er.
A majestic palace suddenly appeared in the desert after five kilometers. It towered over the yellow sands and measured over hundreds of acres in area. In the lead, Sect Head Qin Mo halted his pursuit about a thousand meters away and stared at the awe-inspiring palace. His expression was filled with momentary surprise. He hadn’t expected that such a magnificent palace would exist within the transcendent region of the Paramount Realm. What’s the purpose of constructing such a palace in a realm devoid of life force? He was even more astonished to see the silhouette of a person standing before the palace. The figure appeared young, but possessed a significant presence. “Jiang Chen?” Sect Head Qin Mo cried out with surprise.
Jiang Chen only returned a cold gaze, “And who might you be? If I remember correctly, there is no one of your caliber within the Myriad Domain.”
Sect Head Qin Mo laughed loudly. “Good, good, good… I hadn’t expected that someone so courageous could be found amongst the younger generation of the Myriad Domain. I wonder, are you blind or is it ignorant confidence?”
Wang Jianyu’s and his party arrived one after another as they were talking. The former’s eyes were full of terror. “Sir, the… the girl…”
Sect Head Qin Mo’s expression turned frosty. “Where is she?”
“Honored master, that crafty wench actually possessed an escape talisman. She crushed it instantly and escaped in a flash of light.” Wang Han’s tone was both exasperated and irate.
Sect Head Qin Mo glared furiously at Wang Jianyu, “Useless trash!”
Wang Jianyu could only lower his head without a word, he didn’t dare retort at all. He felt rather aggrieved. You were the one who wanted to pretend you’re all that and not put restrictions on her! How would she have the opportunity to slip away otherwise?
However, Sect Head Qin Mo then grinned, “Let it be. The girl is no longer significant since the star of the show has already appeared.”
Wang Han’s eyebrows twitched after seeing Jiang Chen standing before the palace. He was first astonished, but then ecstatical. “Jiang Chen, you animal! It seems that you do like to play the protector of maidens.”
Jiang Chen’s expression was indifferent. “Wang Han, I would tuck my tail behind me and behave myself if I were you. It seems that I’ve overestimated your moral principles. I didn’t expect that you would immediately defect, and recognize the thief as your father. However, this relationship is quite messed up. Since Wang Jianyu is your grandfather and now you have recognized the Great Scarlet Emperor as your godfather, wouldn’t that make Wang Jianyu the emperor’s father?”
Wang Jianyu’s expression changed drastically after hearing these words. He was filled with terror. How could he not know that Jiang Chen was trying to trip him up? Jiang Chen wanted to roast him on an open fire! Although the bit about Wang Han recognizing the Great Scarlet emperor as his godfather was nonsense, it was an undeniable fact that he had taken Sect Head Qin Mo as his master. Since he was Wang Han’s grandfather, he was indeed Sect Head Qin Mo’s senior. Wang Jianyu immediately began to sweat.
Sect Head Qin Mo was apathetic and unmoved by these words. He stared at Jiang Chen with cold eyes before cackling cruelly, “Brat, you have quite the glib tongue.”
No sooner had he spoken than the corners of his mouth abruptly lifted into an odd smile. Suddenly—seven zither strings shot out with a lift of his hand and rushed toward the sky, akin to the convergence of seven stars. The skyrocketing strings churned up light with boundless radiance as they intersected in the air, forming a fine, inescapable net which locked down the area.
“Get down here!” Sect Head Qin Mo shouted and pressed down with a single hand. Suddenly, a beam of light in sky crashed into the net of interwoven zither strings.
Sizzle… Sizzle… Ear piercing sounds rang out as the light was deterred by the zither string net. A figure fell out from within the light—Ling Bi’er.
Sect Head Qin Mo laughed loudly as he transformed one of his hands into an enormous palm of spirit energy and caught Ling Bi’er as she fell. Things developed swiftly within the time it took for a spark to fly off a flint stone. It was only a breath’s time from the moment Sect Head Qin Mo took action until Ling Bi’er was recaptured. Even an expert such as Wang Jianyu hadn’t realized who Sect Head Qin Mo was targeting. They only realized what had happened when Ling Bi’er was caught in midair. They were completely taken aback by astonishment and they couldn’t help but admire the strength and abilities of the emperor realm expert.
The distant Jiang Chen had taken precautions the moment Sect Head Qin Mo made his move, but immediately realized afterwards that the target wasn’t him. Ling Bi’er’s light had already been trapped by the time he reacted. He’d originally been delighted after hearing Wang Jianyu’s words, thinking that Ling B’er had already escaped. Unexpectedly, Ling Bi’er had turned back only to be captured once again.
“Haha, this lass is so blindly devoted. You have obviously escaped and yet you come back to die. Could it be that you wanted to accompany this brat in death like a pair of doomed mandarins?” Hints of glee could be discerned from Sect Head Qin Mo’s laugh. He was overly proud of his extraordinary strength.
He’d been slightly worried that Jiang Chen also possessed a similarly powerful escape talisman. Qin Mo might have been able to hunt Jiang Chen down in the outside world if he’d utilized such a powerful escape talisman to flee, but with the weak life energy within the Paramount Realm, he wasn’t fully confident about chasing after Jiang Chen. Now that Ling Bi’er had returned, he had gained another trump card. Jiang Chen wouldn’t run away now even if he had the means. This girl returned for you after a escaping successfully. Would you have the heart to abandon your lover and flee?
“Jiang Chen, even this old man can’t help but praise the girl’s affection and loyalty. You have quite the charisma to be able to gain this exquisite young lady’s unwavering devotion. She came back for you regardless of her own safety. Tell me, should this old man fulfill your wishes and let the two of you die together?” Sect Head Qin Mo laughed calmly, his fearless gaze fixed on Jiang Chen.
Ling Bi’er had originally wanted to return secretly and escape together with Jiang Chen. Alas, she had carelessly fallen back into Sect Head Qin Mo’s hands. Anxiety burning in her heart, Ling Bi’er cried out, “Junior brother, forget about me and leave quickly! The Great Scarlet Mid Region has launched a full scale invasion and the fate of the Myriad Domain is unknown. Leave quickly and preserve your own life so that you can avenge everyone later on!” Ling Bi’er gave no thought for her survival and even felt somewhat guilty. She felt that her good intentions had dragged Jiang Chen down. At this moment, she only wanted Jiang Chen to leave quickly. It would lessen her guilt if Jiang Chen wasn’t implicated by her mistake.
Wang Han was actually afraid that Jiang Chen would indeed abandon Ling Bi’er and flee. He laughed coldly, “Jiang Chen, didn’t you have quite the glib tongue just now? Why not throw your weight around a bit more? This tramp is so devoted to you. Do you have the heart to abandon her?” Despite being rather nervous, he was still composed. Ideas flashed through his mind and he devised a plan in an instant.
“Wang Han, the likes of you who recognizes a thief as your father is not worthy of speaking to me.” Jiang Chen’s gaze shifted to Sect Head Qin Mo, “What position do you hold within the Great Scarlet Mid Region?”
Sect Head Qin Mo laughed loudly, “Brat, are you trying to get information out of me? In that case, I’ll play along with you—this old man is the sect head of the Zither Sect.”
“Zither Sect…” Jiang Chen nodded apathetically. “Noted. Now, tell me what you want.”
Jiang Chen couldn’t use his with Ling Bi’er in the enemy’s hands. Sect Head Qin Mo gazed calmly at Jiang Chen, also thinking of what to say. On the contrary, it was Wang Han who spoke. “First, present all the sky, earth ranked herbs and the recipe to the Longevity Pill to my master!”
The corners of Jiang Chen’s mouth twitched into a cold sneer, obviously disdainful of Wang Han. He raised his brows and addressed Sect Head Qin Mo, “Is the Zither Sect master so lacking in successors that he requires this kind of petty person to speak for him?”
Sect Head Qin Mo smiled indifferently, “Kid, there is no need to sow dissension between us. That type of move is useless against this old man. Wang Han’s words are my words—hand over the items.”
The old man was full of schemes and adept at maintaining a poker face. Wang Han was delighted after hearing these words.
It was Jiang Chen’s turn to be contemplative. The old man was impenetrable to persuasion and seemed difficult to deal with. This was Jiang Chen’s first time confronting an emperor realm cultivator. However, he wasn’t flustered and spoke with a tranquil smile, “Do you wish to bully me due to my young age? Or do you think I’m an idiot? You chased me all the way into the Paramount Realm in order to get your hands on the spirit herbs and pill recipe, disregarding all costs. If I handed them over to you just like that, wouldn’t I be throwing my life away?”
Sect Head Qin Mo cackled, “Then you wish to see this old man personally ‘handle’ this delicate and beautiful senior sister of yours?”
Jiang Chen’s expression turned frosty. “I have nothing to lose since things have developed thus. You are an emperor realm expert and we have no means of fighting against you. If you harm my senior sister, then I’ll just destroy all the spirit herbs and go down fighting. Since my senior sister has chosen loyalty over survival, I will respond in kind. However, if you want to take the herbs from me easily, dream on!”
Jiang Chen’s intention was clear; he would go down in flames with everyone if things came to that. No matter how tyrannical you are, the most you will get out of this is our deaths. Don’t even dream about leaving with all the herbs intact!
Sect Head Qin Mo started. This was what he feared the most. If Jiang Chen wasn’t cooperative and decided to destroy all the herbs, it would be meaningless even if he killed the disciple a hundred times over. Qin Mo’s main reason for entering the Paramount Realm was to claim the earth and sky ranked spirit herbs, along with the recipe for the Longevity Pill. There would be no point to killing the two Regal Pill Palace juniors if all of those things were destroyed. As for humiliating Ling Bi’er, it would only serve to vent the resentment of people like Wang Han. There was no significance in this act for him.
